Wednesday, July 13, 2016

"Turn To, Not Against Each Other"

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch:

"I ask you to turn to each other, not against each other."

Progressive
Christian Reflections
has been named one of the Top 100 Christian Blogs--number 27 in terms of
quality and searches. Congratulations also to the designer of this blog and of my
website, Becki Jayne Harrelson.

“Shoot first. Ask questions later.”“The best defense is a good offense.”

These seem to be the mantras of our time. Waking as we do each morning to
a new shooting in our country or bombing in our world, accompanied by sights
and sounds of shots and explosions, shouting and screaming, followed by the
heart-rending wailing of the grieving, gives new impetus to the cry:

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

Decades ago, I read of a study revealing that U.S. soldiers grew increasingly
willing to fire their weapons from WW I to WW II to Vietnam. I would not be
surprised if this same “progression” could be documented in the civilian
populace, including the police and the communities they serve.

Most of us only shoot our mouths off, but the principle is the same. And it is multiplied exponentially through
social media, where the snarky comment is common, where anger, paranoia,
prejudice, and scapegoating present themselves as truth.

However we pull the trigger, we must take
responsibility, and expect “an eye for an eye.”

I have worked with people who have taken on an adversarial role with
others or with me, when they could have easily gotten what they wanted with
courtesy and conversation.

And I have experienced toxic environments with unexplained animosity and
bickering, much like that old Star Trek episode in which the crew of the starship
Enterprise could not explain uncharacteristic fighting among themselves, until
they discovered a parasite on board feeding off their hatred, fear, anger, and
violence; a parasite that could only be defeated by overcoming their
animosities. (Gives a whole new meaning to “exorcism”!)

I do know how fear, anxiety, distrust, and poverty can make us more
confrontational than we need to be. A small and everyday example: I have been
undergoing a few sessions with a physical therapist for back problems. Having
limited resources, I feared I was being taken advantage of, that I didn’t need
a whole series of appointments. Apprehensive, I decided to talk things out with
the clinic without expressing my worst fears, and found that indeed, they had
my best interests at heart and were good people. The matter has been resolved without
conflict or confrontation.

But not everyone has the opportunity to do that. Either there is such a
long and painful history with “the system,” or “the system” is impervious to
correction and change, that peaceful resolution seems impossible.

But as Gandhi said, “An eye for an
eye makes the whole world blind.”

Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn
found himself entangled in the multi-generational feud between the Shepherdsons
and the Grangerfords. With the Grangerfords, Huck recounts:

Next Sunday we all went to church, about three mile, everybody
a-horseback. The men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between
their knees or stood them handy against the wall. The Shepherdsons done the
same. It was pretty ornery preaching—all about brotherly love, and such-like
tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon and they all talked it
over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith and good works
and free grace and pre-foreordestination, and I don’t know what all, that it
did seem to be one of the roughest Sundays I had run across yet.

We need more brotherly and sisterly
love, “and such-like tiresomeness,” without our defenses at the ready to blast
one another.

Jesus’ answer to violence was vulnerability. Ask questions first, try to
understand, and don’t shoot at all. His best offense was no defense. It has
changed many hearts that otherwise might have remained hardened.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch proclaimed the gospel last week when
she said, “I ask you to turn to each
other, not against each other.”

1 comment:

Thanks, Chris. Seems to me it is nearly impossible to heal this broken trust because of how long it takes to sustain healing atmosphere---generations. And more than the sum of the parts, also--the entire system rekindles the break in trust despite the intentions of most individuals. Can we sustain hope and awareness and trust long enough for correcting system? Knowing my own struggle with trying to forgive the world, including God, for the damage done, makes me feel that the most realistic is like you say----one to one, bit by bit. But, really, the damage done is almost like they used to tell me---you're simply growing up, seeing realities, it is the way of the world, always has been, always will be. So, anyway, i am coming to trying to remember how absolutely amazing it is that there are not more car crashes, how amazing it is that people don't kill each other more than they do. It could be worse.

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ABOUT CHRIS...

Chris Glaser has a ministry of writing and speaking. Since graduation from Yale Divinity School in 1977, Chris has served in a variety of parish, campus, editorial, and interim posts. He has spoken to hundreds of congregations, campuses, and communities throughout the U.S. and Canada, and published a dozen best-selling books on spirituality, sexuality, vocation, contemplation, scripture, sacrament, theology, marriage, and death.